Russellville’s Personnel Committee met Monday to discuss whether city employees should be expected to work five-day or four-day work weeks.

Committee members noted six employees in the Public Works Department have been working four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days.

“I’m a proponent of eight-hour work days,” Human Resources Coordinator Tracey Cline-Pew said. “The people working four 10s are office personnel. ... We are public servants, and we need to be here when the public needs us.”

After considering whether to adjust the city’s personnel policy to specify a normal work day as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, the decision was made to simply modify employee job descriptions to specify what the hours should be for each job title.

The personnel policy sets out “general rules for all employees,” Alderman Kevin Freeman said, and trying to become too specific can create problems. Committee members noted some employees, especially mowers and road crews, work different hours during the summer because of the extreme heat. Modifying job descriptions would allow to provide the desired five-day work week for office personnel, without causing obstacles to other employees.